Does cactus need water to grow in Minecraft

Cactus is one of the farmable items that can grow potentially infinitely. While cactus will only grow up to 3 blocks tall, you can grow an entire cactus farm out of one block of cactus. This common desert plant can be used for dyes, mob grinders, and or even planted in a flower pot. Cacti has a fair amount of uses and you can grow it yourself after you collect two simple blocks. This guide will outline the materials required for farming cacti, how to make a cacti farm, and how to use cactus.

Required Materials for Farming Cactus

1. Sand
2. Cactus

Cacti can only grow on sand, so in order to build a farm, you will need as many sand blocks as you want spaces for cacti. Sand can be found just about anywhere so dig some up with a shovel and plan for how big you want your farm to be. Finding cactus may be a bit harder if there are no deserts nearby. As cactus only grows on sand, you should be able to find it anywhere sand grows, assuming it is not right next to an ocean.

First, gather some sand anywhere you can find it. It is most common and plentiful in deserts so you should have no trouble supplying a large quantity of sand. Next, you will need to find the cactus. If you are gathering sand in a desert it should take no time at all to find cactus. You can find cactus in deserts and badlands biomes. If there are none nearby, you can also find potted cacti in basement igloos.

Make sure to hit the base of the cactus. If you hit the tops it may fall onto itself, cacti will destroy any item that falls on top of it, so try to keep your valuable items far away from the cactus itself. While you are near the cactus you can gather up some sand. Each block of sand will house one cactus plant so plan accordingly for how large you want your cacti farm.

Cactus cannot be placed next to any other block. There has to be a space in each cardinal direction of a cactus.

If you want to have a large-scale cactus farm you will need to space out your cacti a block away from each other. You will also want a little extra space to move between the cacti as well as prevent existing cacti from destroying each other after you break it apart.

Placing them with efficient space in mind will require a grid of cacti blocks and an air block between each one. You do not need sunlight, water, or tilled ground in order to plant cacti.

How to Use Cactus

Cacti has a multitude of uses. As mentioned earlier, you can use cacti to destroy unwanted blocks. This can be used as a replacement for lava if you are worried about the fire spreading throughout your house.

Arranging your cactus-like above prevents the cactus from growing too high as well as having a small receptacle to catch unwanted items. Anything you throw onto the cactus will be destroyed.

You can also plant a cactus by placing a flower pot and placing a cactus inside.

If you need green dye you can smelt cactus in order to obtain one green dye for each cactus you cook in a furnace.

Walking into a cactus will damage you. It will also damage any mob that walks into it. This includes friendly mobs and hostile mobs. If you arrange cactus in a wall-like shape, alternating between each planted cactus you can prevent mobs from having easy access into your home. Think of it as a prickly wall.

In a Nutshell:

Farming cacti is incredibly simple and nearly infinite. You can make as many cacti as you want from one cactus plant. Cactus can be smelted into green dye, planted into a flower pot, utilized as a wall, and with large amounts, can be a decent source of experience. Since cacti are so easy to grow, you ought to keep at least one cacti you find in order to multiply it into many if you ever need one of its uses.

FAQs

Q. Can Cactus destroy itself when it drops in Minecraft?

A. Cacti will absolutely destroy itself if you break it from the middle. It can be tempting to do so, as you would not need to replant it, but you will definitely end up having some cacti be destroyed by breaking the middle stalk. If you want to stay efficient, break the base and replant it. You can also keep a cactus as an item destroyer if you want to avoid the fire spread of lava.

Q. How do you make Green Dye in Minecraft?

A. If you have cacti on hand you can smelt it in a furnace to obtain green dye. If you want to make large amounts of stained glass, concrete, or wool you will want to have a cactus farm handy in order to supply the green and lime dye.

Q. How much damage does Cactus do in Minecraft?

A. Cacti will deal half a heart of damage to every tick. Meaning for every half second you spend touching a cactus, you will take half a heart of damage. This is also true for hostile mobs, neutral, and passive mobs. Be careful where you plant your cacti if you have farm animals you want to keep healthy.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you now know how to create your very own cactus farm in Minecraft. While its uses are relatively limited, its ease reflects its practicality. If you are interested in making a lot of blocks with colored dye, it is a no-brainer to farm cacti as it is incredibly simple. A few dozen blocks of sand and one cactus block with enough time can supply you with more cacti than you know what to do with. Since it is relatively simple, it is a fast and easy build to take care of for your world.

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